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O little town of Bethlehem….the hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight. (well-known Christmas Carol)
As we celebrate another Christmas, we ask the age-old question which many are tired of hearing: What is Christmas all about?
To find the answer we must look past the decorations, gifts, food, parties, family gatherings, junkanoo, Christmas productions, and church services – all of which have their value – to see that it is really about HOPE. Jesus came into the world as a baby, a human being, to restore humanity’s hope in a caring God – a God who wanted to be connected to His human race. And the mandate to the Church and to Christians ever since has been clear: to make disciples, i.e., to nurture that hope in others so that they might feel the love of God and, in turn, express it in action.
Hope is the feeling of expectation and desire for a particular thing to happen. It causes people who are lost or in despair, people at their lowest valley, to look up and to keep going as they envision a better day. Sometimes, because of his/her feelings or circumstances, a person cannot feel any glimmer of hope. We, therefore, have to help them along through our words, actions, and prayers. EVERYTHING that we do to help or to heal or to make a person’s life better is therefore vitally important.
This Christmas, may the God of HOPE fill [US]with all joy and peace in believing so that, by the power of the Holy Spirit, [WE] may be filled with hope (Romans 15:13). May our living and our actions cause others to be filled with that same hope.
My family joins me in wishing you all a Happy Christmas and a Fulfilling New Year.
On behalf of the Anglican Diocese of The Bahamas and The Turks and Caicos Islands, I wish you and yours a Happy Christmas and a Fulfilling New Year.
Yours in Christ,
+Laish
The Rt. Rev’d Laish Zane Boyd Sr.
Bishop of The Diocese of the Bahamas and The Turks and Caicos Islands
